EQUINE Ink

Entries from November 2009

A kiss on the head.

November 29, 2009 · 3 Comments

Photo by pamela leigh richards, 12/08

I had a mare once who loved all baby creatures. She would lean down and snuffle my daughter’s head just like this.

One day I found her in the paddock with a gosling. She followed it around gently brushing it with her muzzle and breathing into his feathers. It looked like she was trying to soothe it (although I’m not sure the gosling got the message).

More cute photos and videos like this at Fly With Me Productions. Check it out!

Categories: Commentary · Equine photography
Tagged:

The importance of touching your horse.

November 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Gary Severson was the first person to show me how bodywork can be used to release tension.

Last week I read a post at Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch that really struck home, Routine Tasks with no Inherent Meaning Diminish the Spirit of the Horse.

There’s a lot in the post that I agree with. But it was this paragraph that really resonated with me. It refers to how we can motivate our horses by touching them more:

Another way is to increase the amount of physical contact we have with our horses. Not the kind with the whip or with the leg. The kind where you both are on the ground and your hands are on the horse. Touch is a miracle communicator because horses are sensory creatures. Like us, touch in equine life is an important part of the establishment of social hierarchies and family interaction. The reward of human touch is powerful for such tactile animals. You’ve seen a horse with a metaphorical sign reading, “will work for food,” but most of them also will work for touch.

Read more.

 

 

 

Categories: Horse care · equine massage · grooming · horse health
Tagged: , , ,

How to give your horse oral medications.

November 27, 2009 · 1 Comment

Dosing your horse with a syringe is an effective way to administer oral meds.

Dosing your horse with a syringe is an effective way to administer oral meds.

Giving a horse medications is not always as easy as mixing a powder into its feed. Sometimes you need to administer them orally using a syringe.

Of course, squirting a paste into a resisting 1200 pound animal can be a source of great amusement for those watching and frustration for those administering. Here are some tips that can help you succeed.

Read more.

 

Categories: Commentary · First Aid · Horse care · horse health
Tagged: , ,

Would you hang up your bridle?

November 25, 2009 · 5 Comments

I found this poem online a few days ago and wanted to share it with all of you.

I Hung up my Bridle Today
by Kris Garrett

Yesterday, for the first time, I was too tired to ride
Yesterday, for the first time, I was afraid I would be hurt if I was thrown
Yesterday, for the first time, I heard someone say my barn was too shabby
Yesterday, for the first time, I let someone tell me I was too pudgy to ride
Yesterday, for the first time, I realized I was old
Yesterday, for the first time, I had to face that I could no longer keep up
Yesterday, for the first time, I had to let go of my dreams
Yesterday, for the first time, I felt my heart break
Yesterday, for the first time, I turned my back on my friend
Yesterday, for the first time, I knew I was done

Today, for the last time, I felt warm, braided leather in my hands.
Today, for the last time, I ran my stirrups up so they wouldn’t bang my mare’s sides
Today, for the last time, I released the buckles on the girth and watched my girl sigh
Today, for the last time, I slowly dropped the bit so it wouldn’t hit her teeth
Today, for the last time, I gave my mare a cookie to thank her for the ride
Today, for the last time, I buried my head in her soft, warm neck
Today, for the last time, I inhaled the sun and the dust in her long winter coat
Today, for the last time, I closed the gate and trudged to the muddy porch
Today, for the last time, I tracked hay and horse hair into my house
Today, for the last time, I pulled off my boots and felt the sting of warm blood returning to my cold toes

Today, for the first time, I cried after my ride
Today, for the first time, I felt my hands shake as I set the saddle on its rack
Today, for the first time, I hugged my young trainer a final goodbye
Today, for the first time, I waited for the new owner’s trailer to arrive
Today, for the first time, I set my boots in a box to go to the Goodwill
Today, for the first time, I sighed at the wear on my riding gloves
Today, for the first time, I had no hay in my hair
Today, for the first time, I did not hear nickering when I opened my back door
Today, for the first time, I felt worse leaving the barn that I did when I entered
Today, for the first time, I had no one to check on before going to bed

Tomorrow, for the first time, I won’t have to buy hay
Tomorrow, for the first time, I can stay in bed longer
Tomorrow, for the first time, I won’t see the poop pile grow
Tomorrow, for the first time, I won’t be able to fly on four legs
Tomorrow, for the first time, I will be sorry I listened
Tomorrow, for the first time, I will regret letting her go
Tomorrow, for the first time, I will be angry at God
Tomorrow, for the first time, I will be angry at myself
Tomorrow, for the first time, I will cry the day away
Tomorrow, for the first time, I will be glad to die

Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will awaken in tears
Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will know I was wrong
Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will defy all the judgment
Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will ignore my old bones
Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will return the buyer’s check
Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will bring my friend home
Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will take my boots out of the box
Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will be reborn

For the rest of my life, I will have a horse in my yard
For the rest of my life, I will ignore the cruel judging
For the rest of my life, I will watch the poop pile grow
For the rest of my life, I will have hay in my hair
For the rest of my life, I will track mud in my house
For the rest of my life, I will bury my face in her soft neck
For the rest of my life, I will let my soul fly
For the rest of my life, I will never be alone

Categories: Commentary
Tagged: , ,

More equine body art – clipping and quarter marks.

November 23, 2009 · 3 Comments

While most of us are still struggling with keeping the lines straight, there are some real body clipping artists out there. Not to mention people who are really handy with a stiff brush, a comb and some water!

I’ve found a few more examples to inspire. The good news is, if you make a mistake you can just shave it all off or, in the case of the quartermarks, brush them out and start again.

Read more.

Categories: Commentary · Equine photography · grooming
Tagged: , , ,

Don’t try this at home – Guy McLean entertains.

November 22, 2009 · 4 Comments

Categories: Commentary · Equestrian video · equestrian
Tagged: , , ,

Is Scribbles the oldest pony in England?

November 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Scribbles, who is 51, shares a carrot with Charlotte, 3, and Maddie, 6. Photo: BBC.co.uk

Scribbles is going for the World record. His owners believe him to be 51 years old, and that potentially makes him the oldest living pony in England and maybe even in the world

Until 2002 Scribbles had worked at Strawberry Gardens Riding School in Camborne for 24 years after owner Jill Power paid £125 for him in 1978, as an already “long in the tooth” 20 year old.

Read more.

Categories: Commentary · Horse breeds · Horse care
Tagged: , ,

A month into the barefoot experience it’s going well

November 20, 2009 · 2 Comments

It’s been a month since I had Freedom’s shoes pulled (the great barefoot experience is underway). I had expected the worst: a horse that was too footsore to ride; the loss of an entire hunt season; hooves that chipped; and bruising or abscessing.

When I had to take Kroni’s front shoes off he was miserable. He walked on eggshells for the first two weeks. Eventually I had to put him hoof boots and Thinline pads 24/7 to get him through the transition.

It just goes to show that the more you think you know, the more horses surprise you. Freedom hasn’t taken a bad step yet. My farrier had recommended that I pull his shoes while the ground was still soft to help ease him through the transition and he walked off sound right from the get go. The Cavallo Hoof Boots that I bought continue to work great for work and best of all, his hooves are looking really good.

After spending the past few months making sacrafices to the hoof gods to keep his shoes on, I am revelling in all the benefits that his shoeless state has brought to me.

  • When I get to the barn and I don’t have to check his feet first thing to see if he’s wearing all his shoes!
  • I no longer listen for the clink of a loose shoe with a sinking heart.
  • I don’t worry about him damaging his hoof by pulling a shoe.
  • He doesn’t have to wear bell boots any more (which held moisture).
  • I don’t have to coax my farrier back in between visits to fix  a loose shoe or to re-attach a missing one.
  • I don’t have to look for lost shoes in the paddock.
  • He’s already set for winter — no borium or rim pads!
  • And, most important — he looks comfortable and happy.

Categories: Horse care · hoof boots · hoof care · horse health
Tagged: , , , ,